Number of children living with domestic abuse rises by 25 per cent

THE number of children living in homes with domestic violence has risen by a quarter in the last year, figures from the NSPCC show.

The charity, which believes an estimated 250,000 youngsters are living with domestic abuse, said it passed on 6,642 reports from concerned members of the public and professionals via its helpline in 2019.

The figure is a 25 per cent increase on the previous year, when 5,322 referrals were made.

The figures come as the NSPCC warned that the Domestic Abuse Bill, which was reintroduced to Parliament on Tuesday, risks failing children who live with the daily nightmare of violence and coercive control.

Emily Hilton, NSPCC senior policy and public affairs officer, said: “Domestic abuse creates a corrosive environment at home which can put children at huge risk of physical and emotional harm, as well as affecting their longterm mental health.

“Our helpline is increasingly having to raise the alarm with local authorities about children living with domestic abuse.

“But without legal recognition of the impact domestic abuse has on children and a duty on local authorities to provide support services, the help they need is just not in place.”

Of last year’s referrals 57 per cent were made to children’s services which have no legal duty to provide support.

Police forces were handed 42 per cent of cases and other agencies picked up the rest.

The NSPCC is now calling for the Government to make local authorities and agencies legally obliged to provide support for children who experience domestic abuse.

This legal duty would help professionals protect children at risk and ensure there are specific services available to help young people overcome trauma, it said.